Orlando Real Estate

I wrote yesterday about foreclosures being put on hold by three major lenders here in Florida and 22 other states. This all just came out in the last several days, and already I believe we are seeing the effects. Our listing inventory is down by a few hundred homes, specifically REO listings are down by 201 or more than 9% in just a few days and pending sales are down just over 6% or 126 properties. These are not earth shattering numbers, but it has just been a few days, and only three lenders have halted foreclosures so far. Here in Orlando foreclosures are accounting for nearly half of our closed sales each month, so if this spreads we could see a significant drop in the number of closings.

Since the bank owned properties are averaging a much lower sales price, look for prices to increase. So far this month there have only been a little over 200 sales, but the median sales price posted is $124,000 which is up $21,000 over September. It is very early in the month, and a lot of sales tend to pile up toward the end, but this could be a sign of things to come with fewer REO properties getting closed. So far, I have not seen any substantial change in the short sale inventory, but there are still plenty of bank owned properties still available. If there is an impact on short sales it may come on the pending side first. Just as I felt like we were getting into a "normal" rhythm in the market - here we go again. I guess the new normal is change.

David Welch Real Estate Optimist, Orlando Real Estate, Any Home-Any Phone